It’s a simple question…. and on the surface…. a legitimate question. The following will help those who ask this question…. discover their own answers.

First – If one asks the question in order to eliminate the legitimacy of all religions founded by men… then so be it. We must then eliminate all religions on this planet… except for Christianity. Only Christianity is claimed to be founded by The Son of God himself. “Begotten, not made”. One being with the father. The first ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325 confessed in its Creed that the Son of God is “begotten, not made, of the same substance (homoousios) as the Father”. All other religions on earth have founders who are buried in the dirt.. and remain there still.

C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity puts it thusly: “We don’t use the words begetting or begotten much in modern English, but everyone still knows what they mean. To beget is to become the father of: to create is to make. And the difference is this. When you beget, you beget something of the same kind as yourself. A man begets human babies, a beaver begets little beavers and a bird begets eggs which turn into little birds. But when you make, you make something of a different kind from yourself. A bird makes a nest, a beaver builds a dam, a man makes a wireless set—or he may make something more like himself than a wireless set: say, a statue. If he is a clever enough carver he may make a statue which is very like a man indeed. But, of course, it is not a real man; it only looks like one. It cannot breathe or think. It is not alive.”

Now that is the first thing to get clear. What God begets is God; just as what man begets is man. What God creates is not God, just as what man creates is not man.

Jesus is claimed to be both fully divine and fully human. No other religious leader can make and give evidence for this claim. Jesus was in the beginning with God (John 1:1) and is eternal and perfect. Yet Jesus was also born of a woman, lived a human life, including natural growth (Luke 2:52), emotions, and even death. In addition, there are more than 300 prophecies in the Old testament fulfilled in and only in Jesus. The odds of such an accomplishment are so exponential as to be considered mathematically impossible. In other words, these fulfillments could be supernatural, something only possible by Jesus as God… and certainly not coincidental. 1 or 2 maybe, 300+ – not.

Second – it is documented within the Bible that Christ appeared at least 10 times between the moment of his resurrection and his ascension into Heaven to Hundreds of Witnesses. But also consider this… 11 of the 12 Disciples (Judas not included) met horrible, painful, martyr deaths for refusing to deny the Resurrection of Christ. Surely, under the threat and infliction of torture, any single one of them would have confessed the falsity of the Resurrection.. if it indeed had not happened. But they all maintained the Christ did indeed rise from the dead. That he broke bread with them, continued to teach and support them and then ascended into heaven… and they died for this belief. Would you die for a lie?

If you still can’t quite buy the Resurrection of Christ, do yourself a favor and read about the Shroud of Turin as well. The Shroud, along with the testimony of hundreds of eye witnesses in extremely well documented, historical documents… should at least put the notion that Christ’s Resurrection might actually be true.

Third – the Resurrected Christ’s form is now very different from the Christ that walked on earth. Through his resurrection, his human mission was complete… “it is accomplished” (John 19:30)From that moment of his resurrection to the end of time… Jesus Christ, The Song of The Living God, would be seen in his true divine state. His complete greatness with God, sitting at the right hand of the father. Although Born on this earth to walk this earth as one of us… Christ returns to his original form as true Light – God himself – a divinity that we could not previously understand. It is our belief that God himself is truly incomprehensible. His magnitude… His greatness… is beyond our comprehension. But God so loved the World…. that he sent his only Begotten Son – God from God… true Light from True Light…. to talk to us directly…. his most favored of creations. He took the form of a man so that we could comprehend those things he wanted us to know… things which God himself thought so important for us to understand… that he speaks with us directly… with no misunderstandings… through the voice of Christ.

Finally: Understanding that Christ is believed to be the Son of God… Equal with God…. You should understand that when Christ appears… he can appear in any form… anywhere… at anytime…. he so chooses. And Christ has made many thousands of appearances since his ascension into heaven. Below are official, approved, apparitions and visions of Jesus Christ by the Catholic Church. The church conducted numerous scientific inquiries and investigations into these appearances, and after careful due diligence… blessed them as worthy of belief.

No other religion in the history of mankind can make claims that their God.. or the Founder of their religion is so active as the one true god… and still alive today!

Some of the Appearances of Jesus Christ After His Ascension into Heaven

36 AD – Vision of Christ by Saint Stephen just before his death (Acts 7:55) The entire assembly raged against Stephen, who “filled with the Holy Spirit, looked at the sky and saw the glory

Christ appears to St Paul – Knocks him off his horse

of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. “Look!” he exclaimed, “I see an opening in the sky, and the Son of Man standing at God’s right hand.” They dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death. As he was being killed, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit… Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

31 – 36 AD – Saint Paul : On the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-19) Now Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that, if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way, 2 he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains. On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
He said, “Who are you, sir?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, for they heard the voice but could see no one. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.

31 – 36 AD Conversation between Jesus and Saint Ananias in Damascus in which Saint Ananias is ordered to heal Saint Paul (Acts 9:10-18).
The Damascus appearance is the last reported vision of Jesus in the Bible until the Book of Revelation was written. There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is there praying, and (in a vision) he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay (his) hands on him, that he may regain his sight.” But Ananias replied, “Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call upon your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites, and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name.”
So Ananias went and entered the house; laying his hands on him, he said, “Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit.” Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. He got up and was baptized,

45 AD Christ appears to Paul in the Temple and warns him of the persecution to come. (Acts 22:17-21)

60 – 90 AD St John – Book of Revelation written – “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified by his angel unto his servant John: Rev 1:1“

In 1205, Saint Francis Of Assisi while praying in the Church of San Damiano just outside Assisi, Saint Francis of Assisi reported a vision in which an image of Jesus came alive and told him: “Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins.”
This vision lead Saint Francis to renounce the outlook of his merchant family, embrace poverty and form the Franciscan order.
The Franciscans became a key force in the renewal of the reach of Christianity. During another vision in 1224 Saint Francis reportedly received the very first recorded case of stigmata.

1208, Saint Juliana of Liege had visions of Christ which she kept a secret for almost 20 years. In these visions she was reportedly told to institute a solemn feast for the Blessed Sacrament as the Body of Christ. When she eventually reported her visions to her confessor, the information was relayed to the bishop. Years later, in 1264, Pope Urban IV (who was formerly the Archdeacon of Liege) formally declared the feast of Corpus Christi for the whole Latin Rite, as the first papally sanctioned universal feast for the Latin Rite.

1246 Saint Lutgarde (d.1246), a Cistercian mystic of Aywieres, Belgium was one of the great precursors of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
A contemporary of St. Francis, she “… entered upon the mystical life with a vision of the pierced Heart of the Saviour, and had concluded her mystical espousals with the Incarnate Word by an exchange of hearts with Him.” Sources say that Christ came in a visitation to Lutgarde, offering her whatever gift of grace she should desire; she asked for a better grasp of Latin, that she might better understand the word of God and sing his praise. Christ granted her request and Lutgarde’s mind was flooded with the riches of psalms, antiphons, readings and responsories. However, a painful emptiness persisted. She returned to Christ, asking to return His gift, and wondering if she might, just possibly, exchange it for another. “And for what would you exchange it?” Christ asked. “Lord, said Lutgarde, I would exchange it for your Heart.” Christ then reached into Lutgarde and, removing her heart, replaced it with His own, at the same time hiding her heart within His breast.

1298 Saint Mechtilde of Helfta (d.1298) became an ardent devotee and promoter of Jesus’ heart after it was the subject of many of her visions.
The idea of hearing the heartbeat of God was very important to medieval saints who nurtured devotion to the Sacred Heart.
Mechtilde reported that Jesus appeared to her in a vision and commanded her to love Him ardently, and to honor his sacred heart in the Blessed Sacrament as much as possible.
He gave her his heart as a pledge of his love, as a place of refuge during her life and as her consolation at the hour of her death. From this time Mechtilde had an extraordinary devotion for the Sacred Heart, and said that if she had to write down all the favors and all the blessings which she had received by means of this devotion, a large book would not contain them.

1302: ST. GERTRUDE THE GREAT
She received private revelations from Jesus regarding the devotion to the Sacred Heart and the importance of the Communion of Saints.

1366: Saint Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church by Tiepolo,
Saint Catherine of Siena was a withdrawn Dominican tertiary who lived, fasted and prayed at home in Siena Italy.
In 1366, when she was 19 years old she reported her first vision of Jesus after which she started to tend to the sick and the poor.
In 1370 she reported a vision in which she was commanded to abandon her life of solitude and to make an impact on the world.
She corresponded with Pope Gregory XI and other people in authority, begging for peace and for the reformation of the clergy, writing over 300 letters.
Her arguments, and her trip to Avignon, eventually became instrumental in the decision of Pope Gregory XI to return the Avignon Papacy to Rome where she was summoned to live until her death. She is one of only three female Doctors of the Church.

1372 Saint Julian of Norwich was on her deathbed and had been given her last rites when she reported a series of visions of Jesus, followed by a sudden recovery.
Almost twenty years later she wrote about these visions in her book Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love perhaps the first book in the English language written by a woman,
presumably because she was unfamiliar with Latin. Her book mentions her illness and her recovery as she saw the shining image of Christ.
The sixteen revelations start with the crown of thorns and proceed through the death of Jesus, ending with his resurrection and how Christ still dwells in the souls of those who love him.
She is celebrated in the Anglican Church.

1425: THE IMITATION OF CHRIST
Next to the Bible, this has been the most sold book in the world. Its content concerns the dialogue between Christ and Thomas Kempis. This spiritual treasure helps to understand the spiritual life, the Holy Bible and devotion to the Body and Blood of Christ during the Holy Mass.

1559: Saint Teresa of Avila (Teresa de Jesús) reported a vision of Jesus present to her in bodily form.
For almost two years thereafter she reported similar visions. Saint Teresa’s visions transformed her life and she became a key figure in the Catholic Church eventually being recognized as one of only three female Doctors of the Church.

1567: SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS
He is known for having written his great guides for mystics. These are “The Ascent of Mount Carmel” and “The Dark Night Of The Soul.”

From 1673 to 1675, Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque recounted a series of visions of Christ speaking to her.
In December 1673 she reported that Jesus permitted her to rest her head upon his heart, and then disclosed to her the wonders of his love.
This led her to the founding of the Devotion of the Sacred Heart. Initially, her life, actions, beliefs and writings became the subject of extreme scrutiny by the Catholic Church.
However, she was eventually declared a saint in 1920 and the Feast of the Sacred Heart is now officially celebrated 19 days after Pentecost.

1697: Saint Veronica Giuliani expressed a great desire to suffer in union with the crucified Jesus for the conversion of sinners.
Shortly after that time she reported a series of vision of Jesus and the Virgin Mary that lasted a number of years.
She reported a vision of Christ bearing his cross and of the chalice symbolizing the Passion of Christ.
On Good Friday 1697 she received the five wounds of Christ as stigmata.

19th Century Appearances

1843: 1843 Sister Marie of St Peter, a Carmelite nun in Tours France reported visions of conversations with Jesus and the Virgin Mary in which she was urged to spread the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus, in reparation for the many insults Jesus suffered in his Passion. This resulted in the Golden Arrow Prayer. The devotion was further spread from Tours partly by the efforts of the Venerable Leo Dupont (also called the Apostle of the Holy Face) and influenced Saint Therese of Lisieux.

1859: ST. JOHN VIANNEY
Known as a great exorcist, he was blessed with countless visions of Jesus, Mary and demons. He also prophesied the coming chastisement and the final triumph of Mary.

In 1866 Venerable Marie Martha Chambon began to report visions of Jesus telling her to contemplate the Holy Wounds, although it is said that she had received her first vision when only five years old. She was a member of the Monastery of the Visitation Order who lived in Chambéry, France, and is in the process of canonization by the Roman Catholic Church.

1873: MARIE-JULIE JAHENNY
From 1873 until her death in 1941, Marie-Julie of La Fraudais, France, enjoyed the blessing of the stigmata of Our Lord Jesus. During this time, she was privileged to have visions and messages regarding the coming chastisement and the final victory over communism.

1898; Secondo Pia’s 1898 negative of the image on the Shroud of Turin, used in the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus.

1899 Saint Gemma Galgani reported a vision of Jesus after which she experienced recurring stigmata. She reported the vision as follows:
At that moment Jesus appeared with all his wounds open, but from these wounds there no longer came forth blood, but flames of fire.
In an instant these flames came to touch my hands, my feet and my heart.
Thereafter she reported receiving the stigmata every week from Thursday night to Saturday morning, during which time she also reported further conversations with Jesus.
The Congregation of Rites has so far refrained from making a decision on her stigmata.

20th Century Appearances

1910: The Franciscan Italian priest Saint Pio of Pietrelcina reported visions of both Jesus and Mary as early as 1910.
For a number of years he claimed to have experienced deep ecstasy along with his visions. 1918, while praying in the Church of Our Lady of Grace he reported ecstasy and visions which this time left him with permanent and visible stigmata, the five wounds of Christ. The stigmata remained visible on his hands and feet for the next fifty years.

1923: SISTER JOSEFA MENENDEZ
From 1919 to 1923 when she died, Sister Menendez received apparitions of Jesus and Mary related to Divine Love and understanding the Sacred Heart. She had a vision of Hell. She became a victim soul and endured numerous bodily attacks by Satan.

1931 Saint Faustina Kowalska reported visions of a conversation with Jesus when she was a Polish nun.
This resulted in the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as a prayer and later an institution which was condemned by the Holy See in 1958.
However, further investigation resulted in her beatification in 1993 and canonization in 2000.
Her conversations with Jesus are recorded in her diary, published as “Divine Mercy in My Soul” – passages from which are at times quoted by the Vatican.
Divine Mercy Sunday is now officially celebrated as the first Sunday after Easter.

1936: Blessed Maria Pierina De Micheli.
On the first Friday in Lent 1936, Sister Maria Pierina De Micheli, a nun born near Milan in Italy, reported a vision in which Jesus told her:
I will that My Face, which reflects the intimate pains of My Spirit, the suffering and the love of My Heart, be more honored.
He who meditates upon Me, consoles Me. Further visions reportedly urged her to make a medal with the Holy Face.
In 1958, Pope Pius XII confirmed the Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus as Shrove Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday) for all Roman Catholics.
Maria Pierina De Micheli was beatified by Benedict XVI in 2009.

1981 to 1989, KIBEHO, RWANDA, AFRICA
Six girls and one boy received apparitions and private messages from Our Lady. The seven visionaries were shown terrifying glimpses into the future: a tree in flames, a river of blood, and many abandoned, decapitated corpses, etc. They were told that if Rwanda did not come back to God, there would be a ‘river of blood.’ Shortly afterwards, the predicted holocaust came to pass during which time two of the seers were killed.